Stop referring people to a FAQ prepared by a bunch of jump-up little fools as if it is the Holy Bible.

As opposed to the individual advice of jump-up little fools? Obviously the OP should take all advice with a grain of salt, but there is no reason that the FAQ is any more or less authoriative than anything else said on the board. As such, what's wrong with referring people to it?

Did I oppose referring to the FAQ? I only oppose referring to the FAQ "as if it is the Holy Bible". Please, read!

Gosh, all I saw was a link. I didn't know that just linking to something was "referring to it as if it is the Holy Bible."

Maybe if he had said "Praise the Lord, I am here to show you the way:" and then linked to it...

Stop referring people to a FAQ prepared by a bunch of jump-up little fools as if it is the Holy Bible.

Well, golly gosh gee willikers. Maybe if you weren't such a hippie with your ass out...As opposed to the individual advice of jump-up little fools? Obviously the OP should take all advice with a grain of salt, but there is no reason that the FAQ is any more or less authoriative than anything else said on the board. As such, what's wrong with referring people to it?

Did I oppose referring to the FAQ? I only oppose referring to the FAQ "as if it is the Holy Bible". Please, read!

Gosh, all I saw was a link. I didn't know that just linking to something was "referring to it as if it is the Holy Bible."

Maybe if he had said "Praise the Lord, I am here to show you the way:" and then linked to it...

Rocky, when will you be graduating? My guess is you are doing a spring transfer here?

Anyway, if you are graduating in May 2009 and don't already have a biglaw summer associate position lined up, you may have missed the boat on biglaw for the most part as most of the hiring occurs during fall of 2L year. It might be possible to get a job during spring of 2L or during 3L OCI but that is kind of hit or miss....

If you are graduating in 2010 (b/c you started in the spring or started part-time) you should be fine. Screening interviews at every T14 except UVA are based on a lottery - bidding system...everyone gets initial interviews no matter what their grades are. However, not all big law firms will hire just anyone and most will ask for a transcript. If you transfer, your career office at the new school should help you bid strategically.

If your T2 is in the same region as the firms or the firms recruit at your t2, then you are in good shape. It's much more difficult for firms to hire you from your new shcool when they dont know how to interpret your grades from your previous school. With that said, being top 10% at any t2 will likely get you at least a few biglaw callbacks if you transferred into a t14. Maybe not v5 level, but still biglaw.

So then if they are just looking at my T2 grades, whats the point of transferring? Shouldn't I just stay and keep the scholarship?

But since its a spring transfer, I would have 1 semester of grades at the new school that employers will look at... I wonder how that factors in...

If you have one semester of grades from the new school they will look at that too.

at the tier 2, few employers will consider you for the position and fewer firms will be at oci. At the new school, more employers will be at oci. They will actually look at your resume. I feel like they dont give as much merit to your grades that are coming from the tier 2 because there was less competition to get those grades, but if they are stellar, they will still hold some weight. So, basically, while you are at a disadvantage transferring in, you are significantly better of then if you had just stayed. worst case, the firm sees your grades for what they are (great grades at a not so great school), but at least then they are actually seeing your grades, when if you stayed many wouldnt even look at you. If you are transferring from a tier 2, it makes a lot of sense to go ahead and do such.

I wasnt familiar with any law schools doing spring transfers though. I mean, G-town accepts people during the spring but not until the fall semester. what school is it that you were talking about?

The point of transferring is more choices. At my old tier 2, there were only a handful of big firms at OCI and they tended to be very very picky. The students that had the grades to transfer but chose to stay behind wound up with very mixed results. A few students wound up with no offers at all after fall OCI despite having top grades and even being on law review. Basically, at your tier 2, there will be no guarantees no matter what the school tells you about placement.

The students that transferred into my new school, a T14, have mostly gotten biglaw jobs with ease if they bid strategically and were not adamant about only joining a certain practice group. Basically you have to understand the state of the job market and understand that the big firms will essentially put you into a practice area where they want you to be when you join permanently. You don't really have a big say in choosing a practice group. Your career office will fill you in.

As an extreme example, one student transferred from one of the very worst tier 4 schools in the country still got a biglaw job in a big city paying market rate.

Firms will discount your grades a little, but that doesn't mean you can't get a biglaw job. It just means that the very top Vault firms are probably out. The word on the street is that employers treated transfers who were top 10% at their old school like a top 1/3 or median student at the T14. Since big firms recruit quite deep at T14s, that's not really a bad place to be. Again, if you are strategic and prep for interviews it shouldn't be too difficult to get a biglaw job as a transfer to a T14.

If you really want to work at a big firm, transfer. If debt is a major issue and you are okay with the risk involved with staying then stay.